Refrigerated meds & TSA regulation

bonzarella

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 9, 2004
Messages
2,474
My DS went on antibiotics today that have to be refrig. Called Air Tran & was told only acceptable method was dry ice :sad2: We leave on Thurs, live 2 hrs from airport & have no clue where to find this. Anyone else ran into this problem yet? Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 
bonzarella said:
My DS went on antibiotics today that have to be refrig. Called Air Tran & was told only acceptable method was dry ice :sad2: We leave on Thurs, live 2 hrs from airport & have no clue where to find this. Anyone else ran into this problem yet? Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

How long is your flight? You might want to ask your pharmacist about how long the medication can be out before it's "bad."

For the most cautious method short of dry ice, for the drive to the airport, I would recommend packing an insulated cooler bag/lunch bag with ice, frozen grapes and the medicine. The frozen grapes should stay frozen while their with the ice and can help keep the medicine cold while you go through security and from everything I've heard, they are allowed through security and on-board planes. Once you are through security, you can always add some ice and then dump it before boarding. And you can request more ice on the plane and add ice at the Orlando airport once you land.
 
Tara said:
How long is your flight? You might want to ask your pharmacist about how long the medication can be out before it's "bad."

For the most cautious method short of dry ice, for the drive to the airport, I would recommend packing an insulated cooler bag/lunch bag with ice, frozen grapes and the medicine. The frozen grapes should stay frozen while their with the ice and can help keep the medicine cold while you go through security and from everything I've heard, they are allowed through security and on-board planes. Once you are through security, you can always add some ice and then dump it before boarding. And you can request more ice on the plane and add ice at the Orlando airport once you land.

This seems like good advice - frozen peas work well too.
As for dry ice - some supermarkets sell it. However, TSA would not allow me to bring dry ice aboard a flight even before this new silliness. "You could use it to injure someone." As if my pen wouldn't do a job to someone if I wanted. I think he was angling for my fish. ;)
 
bonzarella said:
My DS went on antibiotics today that have to be refrig. Called Air Tran & was told only acceptable method was dry ice :sad2: We leave on Thurs, live 2 hrs from airport & have no clue where to find this. Anyone else ran into this problem yet? Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Dry ice will freeze the meds. Not a good idea. I would go with the frozen peas or grapes. As CPT Tripss said, you will not make it through security with dry ice.
 

Real dry ice would freeze the medications and AFAIK was never permitted in planes.

I think Air Tran meant the ice packs (blue ice) that you normally put in a cooler.
 
Lewisc said:
Real dry ice would freeze the medications and AFAIK was never permitted in planes.

I think Air Tran meant the ice packs (blue ice) that you normally put in a cooler.

What does AFAIK mean? :confused3 Also, ice packs are usually liquid or gel, right, so, they won't be allowed either.
 
disneyldwjr said:
What does AFAIK mean? :confused3 Also, ice packs are usually liquid or gel, right, so, they won't be allowed either.

AFAIK= As far as I know. The one that got me was YMMV!! (your milage may vary)
 
The frozen grapes is a great idea. Take a zip lock with you. Once you are onboard, ask for ice for the zip-lock, and eat the grapes. :)

Most medications have a pretty good tolerence for being left unrefrgerated for an hour or so.

Anne
 
goofy4tink said:
AFAIK= As far as I know. The one that got me was YMMV!! (your milage may vary)
Thank you!!!! It was driving me a bit nuts.(not a long drive,btw). The YMMV got me too. LOL
 
Thanks everyone. Grape idea is great, we are going that route. I did call pharmacy today and she said technically this med does not need refrig. So why put it on the bottle? So we will be ok even without grapes but still doing it. BTW-Air Tran said NO way on the ice gel packs. Thanks again-Bon
 
disneyldwjr said:
What does AFAIK mean? :confused3 Also, ice packs are usually liquid or gel, right, so, they won't be allowed either.

TSA seems to be allowing ice packs (not dry ice and not "real ice") in order to keep medications cool.
 
Lewisc said:
TSA seems to be allowing ice packs (not dry ice and not "real ice") in order to keep medications cool.

I would go with the frozen food. Consistency is not a hallmark of the TSA.....So while SOME locations are allowing it, you could get the "by the books" agent or the agent who makes up his own set of rules......(In which case who knows?)
 
CarolA said:
Consistency is not a hallmark of the TSA

DING DING DING DING!!!

We have a winner for the "Understatement of the Year" Award!

:teeth:

Anne
 














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